Description
This issue is rampant. Just enforce the law. I've witness this on Whalley Av. Fountain St., East Rock neighborhood, and Beaver hill, and downtown. Just enforce the law!
This issue is rampant. Just enforce the law. I've witness this on Whalley Av. Fountain St., East Rock neighborhood, and Beaver hill, and downtown. Just enforce the law!
13 Comments
Neighbor (Registered User)
Joseph (Guest)
the plant lady (Registered User)
Carol (Registered User)
Reply to Joseph: in Connecticut, bicycles are considered vehicles and are subject to the same DMV laws in our state. If a jogger or runner is hit by a cyclist who is on the wrong side of the street, there's trouble. As an avid cyclist, I agree that cyclists should be ticketed for not obeying the rules of the road. Cyclists also shouldn't be riding their bikes on sidewalks; they should be walked.
If law enforcement takes care of the smaller infractions of the law, then we might not have so many larger infractions.
BJG (Registered User)
I'm a cyclist and I see many violations by other cyclists, all the time. It's really unfortunate and sets a bad example for new cyclists. These violations are not only adding risk for drivers and pedestrians, but other cyclists as well; at times, near-collisions occur between cyclists because one is travelling against traffic, while the other is going with traffic, and we are cycling toward each other! Also, the red lights are a big issue. I find myself frequently the only cyclist sitting at red lights. Trigger lights are an issue - bikes do not trigger light changes like cars do, so cyclists disobey the law rather than hit the WALK button. But even at regular intersections where lights automatically change for traffic flow, I see cyclists passing lights, just because they can. As for the sidewalks, those laws change all the time, and it is currently a YES in CT. (When in doubt, call the local bike shops, they know the current laws.) That said, I rarely cycle on a sidewalk, and only if an intersection looks very dangerous and there are no pedestrians in sight. As for STOP signs, most car drivers don't even obey STOP signs, they just slow down and keep going.
Cyclists do not like to be criticized, not even by their own ultraliberal kind. Scott Simon (NPR) tweeted out a cyclist criticism and was lambasted to the point that he had to tweet a retraction. Out of some obnoxious sense of superiority (seriously, the whole ridiculous climate change thing, "we're saving the planet"), most cyclists do not feel they should be criticized at all.
If I were of a weaker, cult-like mind, when I began cycling, I would have seen others flagrantly ignoring the laws and figured "Oh well, I'll get away with it, too."
cars - the root of all evil (Guest)
If you don't like traffic, don't drive.
dandelbosque (Registered User)
The debate about urban cycling is one that meets resistance everywhere, especially in places where car culture is so deeply engrained in society. Generalizing and demonizing a group of people ("cyclists") does not help solve the issue. Yes, cyclists must learn to obey the rules of the road, and they must learn that under CT law they are considered vehicles. Conscientious cyclists know this, we know that the we must put effort into educating other not so well-behaved cyclists. Car drivers, however, must be more respectful and tolerant of cyclists and help solve the problem as well. They must realize that for the last century, cities in America have been planned around automobiles and their drivers. If people are really that concerned about bicyclists not being respectful of the rules of the road, they should help cyclists push for the infrastructure they need in order to keep using bikes properly.
You don't have to become a cyclist, you don't have to stop wasting resources or fuel or help stop global warming through cycling, you can do it any other way you can (or choose not do it at all). But next time you complain about cyclists on the road remember the rules of the road weren't made for them and that they've had to adapt. Personally, I'm happy bikers have adapted despite the rules of the road being so hazardous and un-bike-friendly!
Next time you see a cyclist breaking the rules, roll down your window, confront them calmly and find out why they've done it. Chances are you'll prevent them from doing it again, or you'll understand why the've done it and be more empathetic.
Daniel Del Bosque
P.S. Here is what I believe was the most coherent response to Scott Simon's twitter post, in case you want to follow up: https://medium.com/cycling-in-the-city/why-bikes-make-smart-people-say-dumb-things-9316abbd5735.
think for yourself (Guest)
PleaseFixThis (Guest)
The reason drivers are so frustrated is that all legal/ financial liability is placed on the driver, not the cyclist. Cyclists are not required to be registered or insured. Many break laws consistently and many refuse to adapt to the traffic flow
(Who can defend running every single light on state street? Those are very wide, busy, dangerous intersections.)
There is no predicting what a cyclist will do. Some are extremely erratic and aggressive while others seem to be detached from everything going on around them. The problem is that many bikers seem all too aware that they bear no real liability if something happens. As a pedestrian I have encountered some downright surly cyclists who insist that pedestrians yield to them. As a driver I have encountered some finger-happy lane hogs and many many more with an obvious "me first" attitude.
I am not anti-cyclist. I am pro-courtesy and personal responsibility. I would like our laws and the enforcement of them to keep up with our current culture. I would support spending on bike infrastructure, except that I see very few cyclists utilizing the existing infrastructure. They seem to be enjoying the complete free for all that we currently have.
Joseph (Guest)
Police need to take more seriously bike theft ( and drug dealing and drug using and loitering and trespassing and burglaries and robberies of all kind - whew I bet after reading that they'll just curl up in their car and sleep in the back of an apartment building ,church lot ..etc.)
BJG (Registered User)
PleaseFixThis - I have to say, most drivers are absolutely shocked by the courtesy I (as a cyclist) show them!! Drivers are so accustomed to obnoxious, privileged behaviors by cyclists that they actually do not comprehend that I am yielding to them, or allowing them to go through intersections first (something I do for my own safety as well as theirs).
I want to add that there is good reason for the 3 feet law. Drivers should heed this rule for their own protection. And if you encounter a situation where this rule is impossible to heed, ie cyclists are riding side-by-side instead of singularly, so you cannot safely pass them without consuming the opposite lane, you should make reports to local police.
Closed Manager of Operations, Process Improvement - Transportation, Traffic, & Parking (Verified Official)
Carol (Registered User)